22 June 2013

PHILIPPINES Global FC Under-15 may have lost all their four games in the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM)-Frenz
Under-15 ASEAN Champions Trophy but they won't have much time to dwell
on it as they are hoping to get their first three-points tonight.

The Philippines' side will face the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) Under-15 team at the HassanalBolkiah National Stadium in Berakas, and their head coach, Andres Gonzales, expects a tough game from the host tonight.

"We
always try to get the best result in every game. Tomorrow's (tonight)
game will be tough. But I hope that we can win," said the head coach
during the match press conference at the NFABD House along JalanPusatPersidangan yesterday.

Philippines Global FC Under-15 have lost all of their games in group B and currently lie at the bottom of the six-team table.

"We
have yet to record any points in the tournament. We lost 3-0 to
Malaysia in the first game, and followed by 4-1 defeat to Myanmar. In
the third game, we lost 2-1 to Laos and in our recent game, we lost to
Indonesia 3-1," continued the head coach.

"We are based in Manila
and the players are coming from few provinces in the Philippines. We
still have two slots for players left for this tournament, and we are
still in a process of scouting," he added.

NFABD Under-15 are not faring much better.

The national team have only one point to show after playing all three of their Group B matches.

They lost their first two games and drew the other, leaving them fifth in the six-team table.

Brunei lost their last game 3-1 to Frenz
Malaysia B on Saturday, and their sole point came when they blew a 2-0
lead to draw 2-2 with Myanmar Mandalay Academy two weeks ago.

They lost their opener with a 4-1 scoreline to Frenz Indonesia on June 1.

"We
have added a number of players in the team and with that, there will be
changes in the tactics and formation. We are aiming to get three points
tomorrow," said NFABD Under-15 team manager JamhariHjLani.

The tournament, which is the brainchild of FAM Deputy President Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and the Frenz United Football Academy of Pahang, Malaysia, offers a grand prize of US$50,000 for the champions and US$25,000 for the runners-up.

The top two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals.The Brunei Times

14 June 2013

Warriors drew 2-2 against BalestierKhalsa last night, allowing DPMM FC to keep their second position in Group D, booking their berth in the next round.

The Warriors remain at the bottom of the three team table.

TanjongPagar who topped Group B will host DPMM FC this Sunday at the Queenstown Stadium.

There was more reason for the fans of Brunei's only professional club to smile as DPMM FC announced the the signing of ArturasRimkevicius record goal scorer from the Lithuanian A-league yesterday.

The Lithuanian striker set his record with Siauliai last season smashing the 58-year-old record of 28 goals with his 35 goals in 27 games.

He also scored another six goals in the Lithuanian Cup totaling 41 goals for the season.

Rimkevicius has now filled in the fourth slot for the import players, with one more slot still vacant.

The Lithuanian, who arrived in the country on June 1 for his trials, told The Brunei Times "I wanted to try something new other than European clubs so I came to Brunei."

"I read all about DPMM FC on Google and saw that they came in second position (S-League) last year.

"I think they are a good team and I want to be a member of the family and help the team to win in all our games.

"So far it's been very hot for me here but after each day it gets better," added the striker.

Rimkevicius played for Ekranas prior to joining DPMM FC.

Ekranas is currently third in the Lithuanian A-league at the moment.

His last game for Ekranas was on May 30, right before he flew to Brunei, so match fitness shouldn't be a concern.

"From the first moment I checked on him I could see that he would be able to adopt the Brunei life and game," said DPMM FC head coach VjeranSimunic after yesterday's signing.

"I've said many times that it is important for the import players to be accepted and respected by the players.

"In the last seven days I have seen that he has the personality that can be accepted.

"I think anyone who scores goals in any league, it's like a habit and I think he will be able to help us with that," said the coach.

"So I hope he will be able to adapt as soon as possible with the rest of the players.

"It is his first time out of Europe and trying to make something of himself outside of his country so he is really hungry... Now we have four very good strikers so we might have to change our formation.

"Rodrigo Tosi has adapted very fast and has already showed that he can help us," added Simunic.

DPMM FC moved down two spots to seventh in the S-League table after their 1-1 draw last month against the Young Lions.

DPMM FC's next S-League match is against AlbirexNiigata S at the HassanalBolkiah National Stadium on June 28.The Brunei Times

02 June 2013

THE National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) Under-15 fell to a 4-1 defeat to Frenz Indonesia in their Group B opener of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) - Frenz Under-15 ASEAN Champions Trophy last night.

Both teams kicked off the game with a good pace at the HassanalBolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.

Indonesia were trying their luck from distance but it was Brunei who struck first, MuhdSyahmiRasyid giving the hosts a surprising lead after he scored on a turnaround shot.

The visitors equalised four minutes later after ImanesNovanrianto headed in a SyahviarAmrilJadid cross from the left.

IchtioNimatul Akbar tested Brunei keeper MuhdIshyraAsminMohdJabidi on goal with a long range effort three minutes later.

Indonesian captain DoddyAlfayed should have put his team infront after going one-on-one against MuhdIshyraAsmin in the 39th minute. However, the latter cleared his line and did well to put up a save.

HaimieAnakNyaring almost scored the second goal for the home side in the 42nd minute after his freekick from just inside the half way line saw Indonesia keeper AchmadIqbalBachtiar at full stretch to tip the ball over the crossbar.

Indonesia responded immediately in the next minute but Brunei were fortunate as Abdul MatinNorazlan cleared the ball off the goal line.

The visitors started off the second half brightly and were more patient in finding an opening.

They grabbed the lead just three minutes in after IchtioNimatul Akbar headed home a cross from the right.

Indonesia were in total control and the home side were on the backfoot much of the way.

Brunei couldn't push the ball up and were left catching their breath.

Indonesia found the back of the net again in the 72nd minute from a counterattack.

DickyRhomadhonaFirmansyah had got around MuhdIshyraAsmin to score but was flagged for offside.

After several chances, they finally extended their cushion in the 78th minute after a ball by Muhammad DimasHargiharso from their own half was met by Dicky on the left for an easy tap in.

The misery didn't end there for Brunei as substitute Abdul Ali Nahumarury got his name on the scoresheet in injury time to put the icing on the cake.

NFABD U-15 head coach, LiewChuanFue, is looking for better showings from his players for the upcoming games.

"This is the first game and it is good exposure for the kids. Most of them have never experienced something like that and I believe we can get better since there is a long way to go in the competition," said Liew.

"I feel the performance was alright considering the amount of training we have had. Our opponents were just a stronger and better team. We will just continue to work hard and also to better our weaknesses," added Liew, who only had his first training session with the team on Wednesday.

His counterpart, Encang Ibrahim, felt that it was their fitness that gave them the edge on getting the win.

"It was an exciting match. Brunei are also a good team but I guess we are a more experienced side," said Encang, who is also the team's manager.

"They didn't get to prepare as much as us and we were better in terms of physical. It was the advantage that we have to help us win," he concluded.

DPMM FC are through to the quarter-finals of the Singapore Cup after a convincing 4-0 victory over Lao Police FC last night at the JalanBesar Stadium in Singapore.

This is the second time in three tries that they progressed out of the first round in the competition.

A brace each by Shahrazen Said and second-half substitute Joao Moreira in either half settled the tie for Brunei's only professional team.

Shahrazen gave DPMM FC the best of starts after finding the back of the net in the seventh minute.

His younger brother, Adi, had headed the ball forward allowing Shahrazen to go one-on-one with his defender and a brilliant one touch saw his effort soar over Lao Police goalkeeper SengAthitSomvang and into the net.

He doubled their advantage by converting from the spot five minutes before halftime.

DPMM FC remained in control of the match in the second half and Moreira came in for Adi in the 78th minute.

The Portuguese striker made immediate impact and got his name on the scoresheet four minutes later.

AzwanSalleh set up Moreira on the right to rifle it in from outside the box.

He summed up a good performance over the defending Lao League Champions by scoring another just before the final whistle with Shahrazen turning distributer this time for a similar goal.

It was sweet revenge for head coach VjeranSimunic after seeing Brunei fall to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Laos in their AFF Suzuki Cup qualifiers back in 2008.

He felt that the game could have gone either way despite the lopsided scoreline.

"It was a good win because the Lao Police team were made up of many national players. I'm very happy with the team's performance and it was a big win," said Simunic in a phone interview from Singapore after the triumph.

"It wasn't an easy game. It was tough as both sides created their chances. We managed to score and (goalkeeper) Wardun (Yussof) did a great job on coming up with good saves," he added.

"The team put in 100 per cent as always. We missed many of our chances in the S-League (losing three out of the last five games) but tonight (Thursday night) we converted them," continued Simunic.

What was more satisfying for the Croatian coach is that they started the game with only one import, Brazilian defender Tales Ricarte dos Santos.

"We are playing with majority local players and I'm very happy with their performance. The win is a good confidence builder," said Simunic.

"Everyone worked hard such as Rosmin (Kamis) and Azwan (Saleh) despite some injuries. We hope to continue our form," he added.

Shahrazen was glad with the result and is hoping that they can continue with this kind of play.

"Good job and well done to my teammates. I hope that we can keep up this style of play in the Singapore League and also the Singapore League Cup," said Shahrazen.

"What I said before, discipline in game and do our own job then we can see the victory," concluded the striker.